Fortnite published by Epic Games has been one of the most sensational games of the recent past. It is a battle strategy game with engaging gameplay, ultra-detailed graphics, and challenging levels filled with innovation. Initially, after the launch, Fortnite was able to grow a player base of around 350 million. The game counted the highest downloads from Apple as well as the Google play stores.
However, the game was removed from the Apple store in 2020 due to an internal payment issue between the game developers and the multinational technology company. Now, with such a situation, it is quite natural for Fortnite fans to be curious about the probable date when they will be able to play the game on their iPhone again. Well, for getting an answer to that question, you have to go through the actual issue that resulted in such an outcome.
What happened between Apple and Fortnite?
On August t 13, 2020, Epic Games released the update for Fortnite. Millions of excited gamers worldwide, waiting for it, rushed to purchase the update immediately after its release. One had to make an in-app purchase by directly paying Epic Games rather than making a payment through the Apple store.
This was a tactical move by Epic Games. Such a payment setting would lead to significant financial gains for the game developing entity. Epic Games would be able to save by at least 30% per purchase. This equates to a large amount of revenue given the huge fan base that the game had been able to generate. Although Epic Games did not make it mandatory to make a payment directly to them, they offered a discount. This discount could be availed if the user decided to buy the update directly through Epic.
However, Apple did not approve of this payment setup as they were denied of their 30% fees. The multinational company accused Epic Games of violating its terms and conditions. Furthermore, the game was immediately removed from the Apple store leaving millions of gamers in distress. This meant that new players could not download the game on their iOS devices anymore. Moreover, the players who did have the game already downloaded and installed on their iOS devices would not receive the game updates or the bug fixes, in the future.
Epic Games neither took this lightly nor were they interested in any kind of settlement with Apple, in regards to this issue. The CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney took the matter to the court and filed a lawsuit against Apple on a rationale that the technology giant had given rise to a monopoly by having far too much share of the game revenue through via in-app purchases.
Now, as a fellow gamer, you might feel neutral or you might have taken sides. Some might feel that the case verdict should be in favor of Epic Games while others might take sides with Apple. We all have the rationale behind our decisions. However, let us look at some obvious facts.
- Obvious Facts about the Epic-Apple Feud
You should be aware of some of the obvious facts about one of the biggest legal battles between the big shots of the commercial industry. This would help you to understand the reason behind the time taken in making the game available again. Let us look at the facts as given below:
- The Advantage of an App store
When you download an app from your iOS app store you are assured about its credibility. Apple takes the responsibility of hosting those apps in its virtual store, which are certified and of standard quality. Moreover, the company engages in constant monitoring and evaluation of the software packages, rating them and enquiring about the maintenance of the benchmark performance. Apple thinks that a 30% commission or share of the revenue compensates for the cost of hosting the apps on its store. Even, back in 2008, former CEO Steve Jobs had mentioned that the commission was required for the smooth functioning of the store. There were no profit-making intentions in it.
Apple also informed that a huge percentage of the total App Store apps do not pay any money to Apple. This means that the apps make money from the ads. They sell the derived customer analytics from the ads to third parties. They take the benefit of the credibility and the goodwill of the Apple App Store but do not make any payment to the technology giant. Moreover, the Apple executives also claimed that the company’s commission is at par with the standards of the industry.
- The Epic Games Rationale
The Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney had been a long-term critique of the commission policies enforced by the market leaders like Apple and Google. The company has not only been vocal about high commission shares charged by the play storeowners but also dared to do something about it. It has been a commonly known fact that the game developers refused to release the game on the Google Play Store until April 2020. However, as Android users do not have to go through such strict restrictions as iOS users, they were able to download the game from third-party platforms.
Furthermore, the game developing company rebelled for the cause on August 13, 2020, by asking its users to make an in-app purchase of the game currency known as the V-Bucks directly from the game platform instead of going via the Play Store platform. Although the users remained under the impression that it might be a bonus offer, it served as a blow to the commission policies and regulations of Apple. Therefore, the game was banned.
- What can an iOS user expect?
Such an occurrence certainly affects iOS users. To be precise, the situation is such that an iOS user will not be able to download the game or receive and install the updates or the effective bug fixes. This means that you will miss the Season 4 of the game. Though you will be able to play Season 3, the fellow players will be restricted to iOS users only. Others with a non-iOS device shall play Season 4 of the game. Now, the most essential question remains that when can Fortnite lovers who are also loyal to Apple can expect to play the game on their iOS devices again.
When is Fortnite returning on the iOS platform?
The verdict of the lawsuit filed by Epic and subsequently by Apple will be out in the coming days to come. However, Fortnite players might relax with the news that the game is all set to return on the iOS platform through the cloud gaming platform of GeForce Now powered by NVIDIA around October. The beta version of the GeForce Now gaming platform is available in Safari for iOS users. Let us look at some of the crucial pieces of information regarding playing Fortnite on iOS again.
- GeForce Now is a gaming platform that is developed by NVIDIA. It is essentially a cloud platform.
- The newly available version of the game will have an interface that is suitable to touch technology. This might result in a delay in the release of the version.
- The touch version will enhance the gameplay experience and result in refined battling controls.
- The developers have come up with the message that the game is available on the cloud platform powered by NVIDIA. Moreover, the members can play the game in the future on iOS Safari.
- The game is assumed to be re-launched in October 2021. However, there is still no official announcement to back up the fact.
- You can play the game via iOS Safari on the iPhone or the iPad. Ensure that you visit Safari and log into the website play.geforcenow.com.
- One of the best features of the GeForce Now cloud gaming platform is that it offers its players a free trial session that can last for as long as an hour.
- The users can also opt to wait for the free slots to be available so that they can once again play.
- An unrestricted play on the cloud platform will have to be availed with a $4.99 fee per month or a direct $25 fee for every six months.
- Such a subscription will remove all the ads and all the time restrictions.
Conclusion
This is all about the Apple-Epic feud that disrupted the iOS users to play one of their most favorite games. One of the notable facts about the court battle is that Epic Games made mammoth profits with Fortnite. They earned revenue of around $1.2 billion. Such an amount would be enough for the game developing company to make a 30% commission to Apple. However, it had other ideas, which led to one of the biggest court battles between the huge business houses. Nonetheless, the return of Fortnite on GeForce Now powered by NVIDIA is good news for all gamers worldwide. Therefore, be patient until October 2021to play the virtual battle once again.